Posts by David L. Berger, MD
-
Likelihood of Death at Home Is Improving in Colorectal Cancer, but Sociodemographic Disparities Persist
David L. Berger, MD, Swati Sonal, MBBS, and colleagues determined in a nationwide study that U.S. patients who die of colorectal cancer are increasingly more likely to die at home than in institutionalized settings, but racial, ethnic, and social inequities in access to end-of-life care seem to persist.
-
Primary Tumor Resection Improves Survival in Advanced Colorectal Cancer
A prospective registry study confirms improved survival after primary tumor resection in patients with stage IV colorectal cancer, but surgery was associated with a high morbidity rate.
-
New Research Further Quantifies Benefits of Preventative Colonoscopy Screening
Patients who had colorectal cancer diagnosed through screening or surveillance had a significantly better prognosis than patients who underwent colonoscopy because of symptoms.
-
Converting Laparoscopic Colon Cancer Surgery to Open Surgery Does Not Impair Survival
When laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer must be converted to open surgery, survival is comparable to that with planned laparoscopic surgery and planned open surgery.
Biography
Dr. Berger's clinical interests are in surgical oncology including cancers of the colon, rectum, liver, pancreas, stomach and GE junction. He also sees many patients with gallbladder disease, diverticulitis and gastrointestinal stromal (GIST) tumors. Dr. Berger performs a high volume of operations - more than 800 per year - many of which are performed laparoscopically (minimally invasive surgery).
Dr. Berger was raised in Haverford, Pennsylvania. He attended Harvard College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Berger completed his residency in Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital and served a year as the Chief Resident at the hospital; He completed a year of fellowship training in Nashville, Tennessee before returning to join the surgical staff at Mass General.
Dr. Berger serves on several national committees and on the executive council of the New England Surgical Society. In addition, he serves as the general surgical consultant for the New England Patriots, Boston Bruins and the Boston Red Sox. Dr. Berger has written more than 30 original articles and book chapters and is the editor of the Oxford American Handbook of Surgery published in 2009.
Digestive Healthcare at Mass General
The Massachusetts General Hospital Digestive Healthcare Center is a collaborative practice of gastroenterologists, endoscopists, surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, hepatologists, oncologists and radiation oncologists dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of digestive diseases.